Culture

Peter Stuyvesant: the Dutch commander who lost his leg at St. Martin

A profile of Peter Stuyvesant, born in Friesland around 1610, who led the failed Dutch attack of 1644 to retake St. Martin from Spain and lost his right leg in the battle.

By SXM Daily · October 22, 2026

Peter Stuyvesant was a Dutch West India Company commander whose career crossed paths with St. Martin in a costly way. Born around 1610 in Friesland, in the north of the Netherlands, he led the Dutch attempt of 1644 to take the island back from Spain. The attack failed, and a Spanish cannon shot cost him his right leg.

Peter Stuyvesant, portrait c. 1660, attributed to Hendrick Couturier. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From Friesland to Curaçao

Stuyvesant served the Dutch West India Company in the Caribbean, where he was based on Curaçao. According to the New Netherland Institute, which publishes the company records he kept, he served as director of the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao).

The attack on St. Martin, 1644

In the 1640s St. Martin was held by Spain. In 1644 Stuyvesant led a Dutch force to retake it. The attack was unsuccessful. During the fighting he was hit by Spanish cannon fire, and his right leg had to be amputated. The New Netherland Institute records the amputation as a direct result of the attack on St. Martin. Sources differ on the exact month the attack began, so SXM Daily gives only the year.

After St. Martin

Stuyvesant left Curaçao for medical reasons in 1644. In 1646 he was selected to lead New Netherland, the Dutch colony in North America, according to the New Netherland Institute, which notes that he continued to serve as director of the ABC Islands after that appointment.

Why he matters to the island

Stuyvesant went on to lead New Netherland, but on St. Martin his name is tied to the struggle between European powers for the island in the 17th century. The failed attack of 1644 left its mark on the man who led it, and the records he kept are now published by the New Netherland Institute.

Sources

https://newnetherlandinstitute.org/research/online-publications/curacao-papers/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Petrus_(Peter_Pieter)_Stuyvesant_portrait_c1660.jpg

Source: https://newnetherlandinstitute.org/research/online-publications/curacao-papers/